Ceiling and wall constructions of the type referred to are used in particular for heat exchangers, e.g. preheaters, kilns and coolers of heat treatment apparatus and equipment, and also for boiler rooms and for ducts and the like in order to provide a gas-tight lining for the chambers thereof which are subjected to relatively high and possibly varying temperatures. A number of very different ceiling and wall constructions for the said chambers are known in the art.
In one known construction bearing bricks which are arranged adjacent to one another in tight rows are supported by parallel support bars extending at a distance from one another, and between any two adjacent rows of bearing bricks an intermediate space is formed which is filled by so-called central bricks which are also arranged adjacent to one another in rows and are inserted into the said intermediate space so as to form a seal. These central bricks and the bearing bricks which support them and are arranged in adjacent rows have on their side surfaces which face one another bearing surface profiles which are accurately complementary to one another, and in the transverse direction running between the associated bearing bricks the central bricks have a cross-section tapering towards the interior of the chamber to be lined. By contrast, the other two side surfaces of each central brick, which in each case face adjacent central bricks, run approximately vertically and parallel to one another, but they have tongue-and-groove constructions so that in each case adjacent central bricks interengage in one another. For a great variety of reasons it is necessary time and again to replace damaged or destroyed bricks by new ones. However, in the known construction described above such replacement of bricks is only possible if whole groups of bricks are removed from the ceiling and wall construction, but this is not possible without damaging or destroying further bricks.
The object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a ceiling and wall construction of the type referred to which permits simple and rapid replacement of individual bricks without damage to further bricks.